Kanye West credits his dad for his risk-taking attitude. "I like the challenge of having to win people over with a new concept," West said in a recent interview. "My father (Ray West) was a salesman. And I saw him have to talk people into things and expose people to new ideas all the time."

Could you tell your love story in six pithy words? Even when love hurts, brevity can be the soul of wit. For proof check out Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak by Writers Famous & Obscure, from Smith Magazine, edited by Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith (HarperPerennial, $10, paperback original). A sampling:

This week, three prominent albums are released and reviewed a day early: Kanye West, The Killers and Ludacris. Our critic on Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak: The initial reaction to West's brooding new opus is surprise.